Monday, September 29, 2014

Pediatricians Push IUDs, Implants on Teen Girls

The liberals' war on the birth rate has expanded as the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a policy urging doctors to convince their teenage female patients to accept intrauterine devices or hormone implants to enable a childhood of carefree sex with their teen lovers, and avoid pregnancy from the all-too-common occurrences of statutory rape.

"All methods of hormonal birth control are safer than pregnancy."-- Dr. Mary Ott, Indiana University (lead author for Academy policy)

Thus, the pediatricians are saying that it's better NOT to become pregnant, at any age, apparently.

The best birth control to offer teenage girls is an implantable rod, followed by an IUD, pediatricians say in new guidance. It may seem odd to think of a pediatrician prescribing birth control, but it makes perfect sense, the American Academy of Pediatrics says in new guidance. “Adolescents consider pediatricians and other health care providers a highly trusted source of sexual health information,” the new guidance reads. Pediatricians typically see their patients well into their teens and often into their early 20s, by which time most people have had sex at least once.

. . . data also show that teenagers almost always ignore abstinence advice and their own promises.

Teen girls who have sex should use IUDs or hormonal implants — long-acting birth control methods that are effective, safe and easy to use, the nation's most influential pediatricians' group recommends.

IUDs and hormonal implants cost more, usually hundreds of dollars, because inserting them involves a medical procedure typically done in doctors' offices. But they're less expensive in the long run than over-the-counter condoms or prescription birth control pills, said Dr. Mary Ott, an adolescent medicine specialist and associate pediatrics professor at Indiana University. She is the policy statement's lead author.

Teens have to remember to use pills and condoms consistently. By contrast, IUDs typically work for three to 10 years after insertion, while implants typically last three years.

. . . hormonal patches may be less effective in girls weighing more than 198 pounds, the policy says.

Because IUDs and implants don’t rely on any action from the user, they’re a particularly good fit for teens, says Heather Boonstra, Director of Public Policy at the Guttmacher Institute.

“It’s sort of a set-and-forget method,” she says. Once inserted by a trained professional, an implant or IUD can last from three to ten years, and will be over 99 percent effective. The implant is a matchstick-sized rod inserted in the upper arm; the IUD is a small, T-shaped device placed into the uterus.

Their use has been rising for years in the general population. From 2002 to 2009, implant and IUD use nearly doubled among women overall. But while use of these long-acting methods has also been increasing among teens, less than five percent of all teen contraceptive users currently choose them.